Typewriter clamp means



.1. M.. ROBERTS y l2,416,120

TY-PEWRITER CLAMP MEANS Feb. 18, 1947.

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 26, 1945 Feb. 1s', 1947. J. M. Rom-:RTS l2,416,120 l TYPEWRITER C LAMP MEANS v Filed Jan. 26,]1945 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Patented Feb. 18V,vr 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE y' TYPEWRTERCLAMP MEANS John M. Roberts, Crystal 4llaa-ke, Ill. Application January26, 1945, Serial No. `574,768

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in typewriter clamp means andmore particularly `a clamp of this class which is adapted to hold thetypewriter upon a slanting surface suchas tiltalole platform support ofa desk which may in one position be concealed within the desk when thetypewriter is not in use and elevated to horizontal position when thetypewriter is being used. Also, when the typewriter is being used, theclamp as sists in positioning the typewriter on the platform support andin minimizing objectionable movements of the typewriter on the supportduring use thereof. y

It is an important object of this invention to provide an improved andsimplified clamp of this type, which may be manufactured at relativelylow cost and in quantity production, largely from thin section material,such as a metal stamping or suitable substitute therefor, while at thesame time providing a device which may be applied in .Service with verylittle expenditure of time and effort and without any special knowledgebeing required.

The device of the present invention lalso permits typewriters to beremoved from their usual tiltable platform supports, for cleaning,repairing, or exchanging, expeditiously and with a minimum o-f time andeffort in doing so, and lthe device lends itself to ready adaptation todifferent makes of typewriters.

These and other objects and advantages will Y.

Figure 3 is a plan View of the vclamp of Figure 2 associated with theusual 4foot bar of a typewriter;

Figure 4 shows in full lines a longitudinal elevational view of thestructure of Figure 3 with a fragmentary portion of the typewritersuggested by broken lines and also `incdotted lines in Figure 4 is shownan alternative position of the typewriter platform support when thevlatter is tilted to be concealed, with the typewriter, within the desk;

Figure is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in section, taken 'ontheline '5-5 of Figure 4,; `and Figure '6 is a similar sectional view taken.on the line 6 6 .of Figure 4.

Referring in detail to the illustrative construction shown inthedrawings, the numeral I0 indicates generally an ofce desk of the typehaving a central'knee-hole l.I in which ismounted a `plateliketypewriter platform support I2, which, when the typewriter, indicatedgenerally by the numeral i3, is in `use .is .horizontal within theknee-hole, and, when the typewriter is `not inA use, may be inclineddownwardly, to be supported as by the diagonal cleats i4, with thetypewriter I3, in slanting position thereon, and at this time the coverI5 being pulled upwardly and forwardly to lie horizontal in the plane ofthe desk top I5 and forming a continuation thereof over 'the kneehole II rto cover the typewriter.

The ,presentinvention'has to do with means for lclamping the typewriterI3 to the platform support I2 both when .the support is horizontal Yandwhen 'it is tilted to inclined position, such as is indicatedin dottedlines in Figure 4such c1ampingrneans embodying the present .inventionbeing Yhere exempliedby the pair of clamps I1 and I la,

It may here be pointed out that one well known typewriter constructionincludes at .each side of the typewriter and thereunder a foot bar I3(Figs. .3 and 4) each of which carries a front foot I9 for thetypewriter and a rear foot 2). In .one common practice, the foot bar IB,of which it will -be understood there are two, one at each side of v themachine running `from front 'to rear thereof,

has a threaded socket 2I depending therefrom into which a screw-bolt(not shown) passing through a hole bored in the platform il 2 passesupwardly to be threadedly received in the tapped recess 22 of the socket2| to clamp the typewriter to the platform support,l I 2. It is apurposeof the present invention to eliminate the necessity for the socket 2|and particularly .the necessity for boring a hole in the platformsupport to take a .clamping bolt therethrough. Such a -hole mars `thedeskplatfcrm I2 .and .the installation is furthermore time .consuming.not only when `origi- .nally made but more particularly when itisAdesired to clean, repair or exchange typewriters.

In accordance with the .present invention, my

,improved clamping meansis greatly simplified in construction andoperation 4and one of these devices, represented b'y the V.immoral ITI.,is shown 'in perspective in Figure 2. `It `here includes a leg or footengaging portion shown in .the form .of .a frame 23 which is 'at on itsupper surface but having its rear edge turned .down in a rreentrant bendas at L24 .for enhanced rigidity,

l mations 3| and 32.

advantageously a continuation of and integral y. with the frame portion23,` and this is shown as the inner of the two telescoping boxformations Y I here referred to. The outer said box formation 32 is,similarly, Va continuation of and integral with the desk engaging orhook )portion` 33 of of rubber or the like which rests upon the deskprises a similar sub-foot 23a and suction cup The machine screws |90 and20c secure The opening 25 in the frame portion 23 vof the clamp I1 isdesirably of a size substantially Vjust 3 equal'to the area of the lowerface of the suction cup I9?) so that the latter must be prefer- "ablyforced into the opening 25, which however may be done by slightpressure, the rubber of 1 the sucti-on cup yielding'for that purpose.frame portion 23 then immediately underlies the foot bar I8 and marginsthe meta1 portion |90J i of the Isub-foot intermediate its height, thelatl ter being narrowed to waist-like shape at this point inconventional practice.

At the outer side of thev clamp I1, theV frame l portion 23 hasdownwardly struckjilanges such as the inner flange 23a and outer flange2317, both spaced laterally of the sub-foot I9a when l the frame 23 ismoved laterally outwardly to fthe limit lof its movement on the sub-footThereupon the frame'portion 23 may be clamped to the foot I9 by athumb-screw having a shank I 26' and a winged head 21. The thumb-screw23 i passes freely through a perforation 28 in the l outer flange 23hand is threadedly received in a r, tapped aperture 23 in the innerflange 23a. j Screwing of the thumb-screw inwardly, which l may bereadily done manually by means of the' winghead 21 of the thumb-screw,causes the inner end of the thumb-screw to Ypress'increas- Y ingly uponthe sub-foot Illa and draws the frame l portion 23 laterally thereon sothat the margin 3 of the frame advantageously becomes wedged in thenarrow waist 33 between the foot I9 proper I` and its subfoot Illa. Y Y

The connecting portion of the clamp in this Centrally of the frame is anopening 25, which in thisinstance is rectangular to receive therectangular sub-foot I9a, which usually terminates at its lower end inan inverted suction cup ISibY platform I2 and supports the typewriterthereon, i Yit being understood that the rear foot com- 4 ing 4I in theadjacent inner lateral rwall of the outerbox formation 32. Within theinner box formation is held a cushion-like body 42 desirably of spongerubber or the like which fills the box formation 3i and has a reduceddepending pad-like extensie-n 43 which passes downwardly and outwardlythrough registering longitudinally elongated slots 44 and 45 in thelower faces respectively of the boX formations 3| and 32 and contactsthe upper surface of the platform support I2, thus elevating the metalparts of the clamp.V

I above the surface of the support I2 to avoid The instance includes apair ofY telescoping box Yfor- The box formation 3| is the clamp. Y

As best shown in Figurel 6, these box formations telescopeV snugly butslidingly so that the distance' between thephook portion 33 and the ltypewriter foot engaging portion on frame 23 i may-.be increased orreduced as desired to suit 1 different makes of typewriters, or topermit with l the same make different distances of the typewriterkeyboard frorn the edge 34 of the desk platform support. To fix such anadjusted length l forY the clamp, I provide securing means here jrepresented by a lock pin 35 which has a shank l 3B and a winged head31. This locking pin passes freely through Vregistering holes 38 and 39in the outer lateral walls of the box formations 3| and i 32respectively, across the width of the box fori mations, freely throughanother registering hole Y 4D in the opposite wall of the inner boxformaf tion and screw threadedly into a tappedopenscratching the latterwhile permitting the type- Y writer foot 59h to pass through the frame23 and also at the same time providing a friction member Iwhich gripsthe desk and minimizes movement of the clamp on the platform support,once the position of the typewriter is adjusted thereon,

' and to cooperate with the suction cups |9b onV the typewriter feetVto, minimize movement of the typewriter on the platform Vsupport duringuse of the typewriter. It will be seen from Figure 6, that the shank 33of the locking pin 35 passesfreely through the rubber-likebody 42, thelatter being passaged as at 43 for this purpose.

Iffit be desiredY to extend the clamp', the lockingY pin 33 may betemporarily removed by manually unscrewing the pin, the lingers of theoperator readily engaging the winged head 31 for this purpose, thendecreasing the overlapV of the box formations 3| and 32 until one of theother passages 41 in the inner box formation 3| registers with the holes39 and 4I in the outer box formation upon which the locking pin 35 maybe replaced and again threadedly screwed intothe V tapped hole Il I. V

the edge'34 of the platform support and con-V Y forming Vsomewhatthereto. On its inner surface it is desirably faced with a buffer orlayer of soft material 48 such as felt to prevent scratching of thedesk. Its exterior face is advantageouslyY arcuately ribbed as at 49 forenhanced strength. As shown in the drawings, the hook has an arcuatebight materially of greater dimension vertically than the thickness ofthe platform I2 and the hook engages the platform only at the lowersurface of the platform, this being assured by the cushionelike member43 which elevates both the frame 23 and the hook 33 above the platform.

It will now be understood that in practice there will be two of theclamps, such as I1 and |1a, used with the typewriter AI3 on the platformsupport I 2, one below eachV side of the typewriter, the one shown inFigure 2 being preferably the right-hand clamp as seen in Figure 1sothat the thumb screws 21 and V31 are Vaccessible tothe v screw forengaging said foot.

fingers of the operator at that side of the typewriter. The companionclamp I'Ia at the lefthand side of the typewriter I3 is desirably formedsimilar to the clamp I1 except that the depending flanges 23a and 235are located on the lefthand margin of the frame portion 23 instead ofthe right-hand margin as shown in Figure 2. Similarly, the thumb screw3l or in other words the lock pin 35 will enter from the left-handlateral wall of the box formation 32 and will pass to the rightI throughthe inner box formation and threadedly into the hole 39 of the outer'box formation. Thus, the clamps I'I and I'Ia are in pairs which aresymmetrical though not identical, like the human hands, and servesomewhat as mechanical hands which retain the typewriter in positionboth when the platform support I2 is horizontal as shown in Figure 1,when the typewriter is being used, and also when the platform support istilted downwardly as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4, when thetypewriter is not in use and is concealed on the platform support withinthe desk, the cover I5 being then pulled upwardly and forwardly to liehorizontal in the desk and cover the typewriter.

It is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limitedto details of construction shown for purposes of exempliilcation andthat such changes may be made as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims without departing therefrom.

The invention having been described, what is here claimed is:

1. In a clamp device of the class described, the combination oftypewriter engaging means for detachably engaging a leg of thetypewriter while the typewriter foot rests upon the desk, desk engagingmeans extending forwardly of said leg engaging means and for engagingthe front edge of a desk portion, an adjustable connecting portionbetween said means, and cushion-like friction means carried by saidconnecting portion and arranged to support the connecting portion on thedesk.

2. In a typewriter clamp device, the combination of a typewriterengaging means for detachably engaging a leg of the typewriter while thetypewriter foot rests on the desk, desk engaging means extendingforwardly of each leg engaging means and for engaging the front edge ofa desk, an adjustable connecting portion between said means, andnon-metallic friction means carried by said connecting portion andarranged to support the connecting portion on the desk, wherein thefirst mentioned means is of frame formation and has a central opening toreceive a typewriter foot therethrough to rest upon the desk,v andwherein releasable clamping means are carried by the device for engagingthe typewriter foot when in said frame, and wherein said releasableclamping means includes a manually operable 3. In a typewriter clampdevice, thev combination of typewriter engaging means for detachablyengaging a leg of the typewriter while the typewriter foot rests on thedesk, desk engaging means extending forwardly of each leg engaging meansand for engaging the front edge of a desk, an*

adjustable connecting portion between said means, and non-metallicfriction means carried by said connecting portion and arranged tosupport theconnecting portion on the desk, wherein said connectingportion is of telescoping box formations and comprises a rubber-likebody within said formations and having a pad portion depending throughregistering openings in the lower walls of said box formations to engagethe desk.

4. Means for removably clamping a typewriter to a plate-like platform,comprising a pair of clamp members each embodying a typewriter engagingpart for engaging a front foot of the typewriter intermediate of theheight of the foot, a platform engaging part for hooking about the frontedge of the platform and having its upper part spaced upwardly from theplatform upper surface, and a connecting portion between said typewriterengaging part and said platform engaging part, said connecting portionincluding a cushion-like element for resting on the platform and servingto elevate both the typewriter engaging part and the upper part of theplatform engaging part above the platform whereby each clamp memberengages-the upper surface of the platform only through theintermediation of the cushion-like element to avoid scratching the saidsurface, each said clamp member being extensible to accommodate theposition of the typewriter feet spaced from the front edge of theplatform.

5. Means for removably clamping a typewriter to a desk or the like,embodying a typewriter engaging part comprising an open frame somewhatsnugly receiving the typewriter foot therethrough to rest upon the desk,a desk engaging part adapted to hook about the front edge of the desk,and a connecting portion between said typewriter engaging part and saiddesk engaging part, said connecting portion including a cushion-likeelement adapted to rest on the desk and serving to elevate thetypewriter engaging part above the desk whereby to permit the foot topass therethrough while being engaged intermediate of its height.

- JOHN M. ROBERTS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 559,421 `Tyler et al May 5, 1896573,685` Munro Dec. 22, 1896 1,502,215 Sohst July 22, 1924 1,546,951Swanson July 21, 1925 1,573,286 Whitney Feb. 16, 1926 1,660,648 LinstromFeb. 28, 1928 1,880,891 Dobson Oct. 4, 1932

